I upgraded to Sierra and I am glad that I did. The OS feels much faster and lighter than El Capitan and the new optimized storage features are certainly a welcome addition. Logic Pro X appears to be working much better than it was on El Capitan and best of all, I am no longer having audio drop outs / distortion when using applications such as iTunes.

After copying over all my useful content (such as music, photos, videos etc.) from a backup, my first step after installing a new OS was to create a backup. For this, I used Time Machine. The backup when through just fine with the exception of “iCloud Drive” which took a while to download content during the backup process. Once all iCloud content was downloaded, the backup process was complete.

I opened up Logic Pro X and tested it without any 3rd party plugins installed. The DAW was as fast as its ever been since the OS X Mountain Lion; certainly a plus in my book. The next step was to install 3rd party plugins. Many companies in this area have warned users not upgrade to Sierra yet. Of course that did not stop me as I tend to keep 3rd party plugins at minimum. I opened up Waves Central and installed a local backup of my plugins after which I authorized. At first it did not authorize but this may have been due to the unstable internet connection at the time. After trying again it worked.

I opened up Logic Pro and my Waves plugins were fully operational. Recorded, mixed and mastered a song. Performance wise the improvements are certainly visible.

Plugins from Plugin Alliance do not work officially yet as told by the manufacturer however, I found a temporary solution that will work until the problem has been officially fixed. See below:

First copy the auvaltool file from the /usr/bin folder from your El Capitan install on to a USB Stick.

Restart your Sierra install and hold down Command + R until you see the Apple logo and loading bar.

Once in recovery mode, Open Terminal from the Utilities menu and type csrutil disable

This will disable System Integrity Protection, which will enable you to replace the auvaltool on Sierra with the one you copied from El Capitan. Be sure to keep System Integrity Protection disabled while you use the previous auvaltool otherwise the it will not work anymore.

Once a fix is officially released, simply replace the auvaltool you copied from El Capitan with the one installed by Sierra.

Reboot your Mac and hold down Command + R until you see the Apple logo and loading bar.

Once in recovery mode, Open Terminal from the Utilities menu and type csrutil enable in order to re-enable System Integrity Protection.

After following steps 1-4 you may need to configure file permissions. Do the following:

cd /usr/bin

sudo chown 0:0 auvaltool

sudo xattr -c auvaltool

sudo chmod 755 auvaltool

Disclaimer: Please note that this temporary fix is not endorsed by Plugin Alliance and you must use at your own risk. Plugin Alliance say that they are working on an official fix. SIP must be disabled in order for this workaround to work and should be re-enabled as soon as an official fix is released by Plugin Alliance. Disabling SIP (System Integrity Protection) poses a security risk and should only be disabled when it is absolutely necessary.

I decided to do a fresh install of macOS Sierra as I prefer to do with new OS releases. Already I can say that the download size gives the impression of a leaner operating system. El Capitan was about 6.09 GB and this release is 4.77GB. We shall see later on…

Sales of “Hurt” have been going well. I would like to take this time, to thank all the fans who have made this a tremendous experience. There is more to come, in the near future! I look forward to your continued support. Remember to be strong and confident. – Alexander Lindo

Music is an art-form. It builds, strengthens and enhances the human life. It is built with the purpose of delivering a message. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that (as artists, producers, and engineers) our message is delivered in the most accurate way possible. In the “Studio Tips” series I discuss methods on how to enhance the experience and delivery of “the song”. Enjoy!

Location

Ensure your environment is optimal as an uncomfortable environment will leave you with a poor performance. Surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, what you do, both as an artist and as a person. Do not be quick to “take what you get”, as you always have options. Never let anyone make you think that you don’t have options. If you are unhappy with the situation it is bound to show.

Preparation

If your intention is to record, make sure that you have adequately practiced the material before hand. Magic can and may happen in the studio but it is always best to prepare. If you are a singer ensure that you are hydrated, as failure to do so may leave you with some dry sounding vocals. If you are a guitarist ensure that your guitar is properly tuned and that you have at least 2 extra set of strings available. Other than failure to prepare it can be equally disconcerting when the performer is unable to record a take due to technical difficulties. If you are the producer/engineer set up your project with plugins that introduce the least amount of latency / CPU usage during tracking / recording.

The Message

Vocals / Lyrics are the most important part of every song (that contains vocals). They tell the story, and you want them to shine to the best of their ability. Be sure that your engineer is providing you with a space carved out just for you. Listen to the mix. If you cannot hear yourself clearly when the music is playing, you will be shouting above the mix and this is never recommended. The same goes for performing live. If you cannot hear yourself, you will not perform correctly. It is therefore extremely important to get the balance right, before you open up.